Landing low

Princess Juliana Airport in St Maarten is often named as one of the most dangerous airports in the world.

Sandwiched between a busy beach on one side and a mountain on the other, the Caribbean airport is renowned as one of the world’s most dangerous spots to go plane watching. Big jets swoop in low over the beach to touch down on the runway, a spectacle that attracts many thrill-seeking tourists.

Though signs warn of the dangers posed by air blasts, many tourists still cling onto the fence separating the beach from the runway to feel the force of the thrust.

In 2017 a female tourist – a 57-year-old New Zealander – was reportedly watching a plane take off from the notorious Princess Juliana Airport in St Maarten when she was knocked over by the thrust from one of its engines. She was later reported to have died in hospital where she was being treated for head injuries.

Now two St Maarten holidaymakers have attracted heavy criticism after they performed a highly risky stunt just metres away from an incoming plane.

Oleg Kolisnichenko, 36, and Yuliia Nos, 25, are both circus performers, but their most recent act has been dubbed “highly dangerous” by authorities.

An image, posted to Instagram, shows the daredevil duo doing a one-handed hanstand on top of one another on Maho Beach just as a low-flying cargo plane comes into land.

Her feet almost look like their touching the plane flying above as it comes into land at neighbouring Princess Juliana International Airport.

The Dutch Caribbean island country is famous for its dangerous jet blasts.

But the pair, who had just finished a cruise at the island and wanted to take the souvenir photo, threw caution to the wind.

Life is dangerous – sometimes planes are too.